My trip to Utah to speak to the Federal Bar Association allowed me this week to return to Utah, one of my favorite places on Earth. While I only had a day for hiking, I drove to Zion National Park for some wonderful hikes. I wanted to share some of the pictures and encourage everyone to take a trip to Utah to see the almost indescribable beauty of this state.
St. George itself is one of the most beautiful cities in the country and surrounded by gorgeous red cliffs and valleys that are mesmerizing.
In hiking Zion, you need to park your car at either the parking lot or in the town. You then take buses to the trial heads. This is the best organized park in the country. Buses run every few minutes.
I started with the Emerald Pools trails with lovely waterfalls. It is an easy hike and a good way to loosen up.
I then did the Angel’s Landing and Rim trails. This is a brutal climb along a steep trail with a lot of switchbacks. It is also breathtaking, both literally and figuratively. I keep climbing above Angel’s Land to the Rim trail. I strongly recommend the extra effort. However, be sure to take a lot of stops and drink a lot of water. This is a trail that you have to do at your own pace. (This was my fourth time on this trail and, while it took longer, it is still one of the most inspiring trails in the park).
These hikes are exhausting but truly rejuvenating. I am heading home today but already planning my next return to Utah.
“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.”
-Denis Waitley
I think you demonstrate this, Professor Turley. Thank you for putting yourself out there (in the arena) in service to the betterment of this great country.
Breath taking scenery. Thanks for sharing your adventure, Jonathan!
Beautiful. A bit jealous that you got to see it…but it is on my list of places to visit. Thank you for sharing.
If you’re driving & have the time, visit Capitol Reef N.P.
If you can’t stop and spend some quality time there, do make the effort to drive via Utah Hwy 12 / Hwy 24 that goes through the Park. It’s a breathtaking beautiful drive.
https://home.nps.gov/care/
Jonathan: While you were enjoying the “incredible beauty” of Zion on Saturday a white racist 18 yr. old, Payton Gendron, went into a market in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo and shot dead 10–11 of the 13 victims were Black. It was a cold and calculated mass shooting. Gendron’s “Manifesto” lays out his plan to intentionally target Black shoppers. Gendron cites the “Great Replacement” racist theory that there is a plot by the Dems and “leftists” to replace white people with people of color. The “Manifesto” is laced with pages of anti-Semitic and racist memes.
Gendron was apparently influenced by hate speech he saw on right-wing white nationalist media. But the “Great Replacement” theory is not confined just to the fringes of right-wing media. Fox has been promoting the false theory for some time. On his show in April Tucker Carlson said: “I know that the Left and all the little gatekeepers on Tweeter become literally hysterical if you use the term ‘replacement’, if you suggest the Democratic Party is trying to replace the current [white] electorate .with new people, more obedient voters, from the Third World”. Carlson spews out racist nonsense almost every night to gin up his ratings among right-wing conspiracist theorists.
The enablers of Gendron can also be found among GOP politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Gov. DeSantis in Florida. Both are big supporters of the 2nd Amendment. “Gun Owners of America” has made “open carry” its mantra. Luis Valdes, a Cuban -American and head of GOA in Florida, said recently: “Leftists scream and make dishonest claims that this will give criminals more access to guns or will lead to more violent confrontations on the streets. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth”. Valdes stands behind DeSantis who wants to make the Sunshine State” the “Gunshine State”. Lo siento, Luis, but putting a gun into the hands of every white American who goes into a supermarket will only lead to other incidents like in Buffalo–or earlier in Pittsburgh and El Paso.
And you, Jonathan, don’t get off scot free. By continuing to appear on Fox as a commentator you are indirectly supporting the racist views of Carlson and other Fox hosts. When Fox executives, Stephen Hayes and Jonah Goldberg, resigned in protest over Carlson’s conspiracy theories you should have followed them out the door. But you didn’t which speaks volumes about your true allegiances.
Gee Dennis, can’t you let the guy get back from vacation, at least?